Filler cap assembly



June 17, 1958 c. c. DE PEW 2,839,215

FILLER CAP ASSEMBLY Filed July 8, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 F l G. I

24 24 [3 2s 29 20 Si 48 34 35 29 {Hr F I G. 3

62 22 I INVENTOR.

57 2| CHESTER c. DE PEW 21 60 BY ,4 f/dldzl HIS ATTORNEY.

June 17, 1958 c. c. DE PEW 2,839,215

FILLER CAP ASSEMBLY Filed July 8, 1955 I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 23 F l G. 4

I I g- INVENTOR. CHESTER C. DE PEW H IS ATTOR N EY.

United States Patent O FILLER CAP ASSEMBLY Chester C. De Pew, Farmingdale, N. Y., assignor, by direct and mesne assignments, to Chester Corp., Wilton, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application July s, 1955, Serial No. 520,736

2 Claims. Cl. 220-25 This invention relates to tank closures and relates more particularly to a novel closure assembly adapted for use in tanks such as those used in aircraft which are normally maintained under positive pressure.

An important object of the invention is to provide aassembly wherein raising of the manipulating handle breaks the air-tight seal to release the air pressure but positively secures the closure plate against displacement until the handle has been rotated. This arrangement avoids injury due to the entrapped air under pressure from blowing the closure plate into the face of the operator. f i

A further object of the invention is to provide a closure assembly of the character described wherein a novel.

clamping plate carried below the closure plate is formed with a plurality of radially extending clamping fingers which initially pass through slots in an adapter plate secured to the tank at the filling opening. As the operating handle or flag is rotated from vertical to flush position novel cam means forming a part of the handle draws the clamping plate upwardly and the closure plate downwardly to provide an air-tight seal between the closure assembly and the adapted plate.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide an improved closure assembly wherein the upper surface of the closure plate is flush with the adapter ring and wherein the operating handle, if not flush with the plate, stands up as a flag to indicate an unlocked condition. The arrangement is such that if the flag is down and the closure" Another object of the invention is to provide an imr Fig. 4 is a section similar to Fig. 3. but showing the i look in released position.

Fig. 5 is a broken plan view and showingparts'in locked position. 7

Fig.6 is similar to Fig. 5 but shows the partsinu'nlocked position. i

Fig. 7 is a broken vertical section taken through the closure plate and a different type of adapter plate. I

The embodiment of the invention chosen for illustration ,in the drawings includes a closure assembly 10 and, an adapter plate or ring 11 which is suitably secured by:

bolts or rivets (not shown) to the margins of an openingin a tank 12. The-adapter plate is formed with an upper ring 13, a downwardly and inwardly inclined annular flange 14, an annular flange 15 more nearly'vertical, and a base flange 16 parallel with the ring and having a plut rality \of equally spaced rectangular slots 17 extending, outwardly from its inner periphery. The adapter ring, per se, forms no part of the present invention and the.

closure assembly is so proportioned as to fit a number of common rings currently in use. 7

proved locking arrangement for closure caps for fuel tanks wherein the lock is unaffected bysevere vibration or shock.

In closures of this general character a rubber O ring is generally employed to effect the actual seal and this ring generally rotates relative to the adapter ring, during the acts of locking and unlocking, thus causing wearon the ring. In the closure of the present invention no' rotation can occur between the closure plate and the The closure assembly includes a closure plate clamping plate 21 carried on a stud 22, below the closure plate, and a manipulating handle 23. p The upper surface of the closure is substantially plane with the upper surface,

of ring 13 and its periphery is beveled as shown at 24.-

Below the beveled upper periphery the plate. is ,inw'ardly annular bevel 25. A circular resilient gasket 29 which gasket within this dovetailed slot. for the inner corners of this undercut annular slot its cross-sectional contour .is generally 0 shaped andthe resilient gasket has a greater diameterthan the distance between the points of the C so it must be force-fittedinto the slot and when it expands on contact withthe liquid fuel, nevertheless is held firmly captive at all times.

Below slot 26 the outer face of the plate is again inwardly beveled as shown at 32 and adjacent said latter beveled.

section is an annular seat 33. It will be noted that this annular face just below this 0 ring groove has-a diameter only slightly smaller than the diameter .of the adjacent area of the adapter ring so it acts as a pilot to accuratelyli center the closure upon application to the ring.

The plate is provided with a central opening 34 form ing a bearing for stud 22. A well 35 extends downwardly from the upper face of the closure plate, such well being shaped to receive the manipulating handle 23in flush relation and having an extension 36 to permit rotation' of the stud and the handle carried thereby when the latter is raised to the position of Fig. 4. Onits' lower surface'the plate'is cut away at 37 to reduce weight and is further provided with a central boss 40 to increase the length of the bearing for the stud. 1 Annular seat 33, which merges into the lower wall in thearea of the well, is formed with equallyspaced slots 41 andon one side of each slot is a shallow flange 42 terminating in a downwardly extending lug 43 having. a relieved portion 44 at one end; The inner face of the lug is thus formed with a recess 39 (Fig. 5). This entire closure plate may be die-cast and formed in a single piece. 7

The stud 22 is formed with an annular slot 45which receives an O-ring 46 to eifect a seal between the stud and closure plate while nevertheless permitting'free rotation of the stud. At its upper end the stud is relieved on each side thereof to form two flat faces 47 and a pin 48 passes through this upper sectionfor mounting -the is generallyir'oundjj in cross section is positioned within the annularslot and] upper and lower shoulders 30 and 31, extending down wardly" and upwardly, respectively, serve to retain the In other words, excepjt E m a if fiiilating handle." The latter is of bifurcated constructron' and the two'spaced legs 50 are formed at their outer ends with flat faces 51 lying relatively close to the pivot pin and with flat faces 52 at right angles thereto a lfihg at a greater distance from the pin. These two faces are connected by a curved edge 53, all for a purpose td lad il cribed.

The pivot pin extends beyond the outer faces of the le'g s a iidits terminals engage camming surfaces 54 in the w e ll 3p opposite sides of the central opening. At its lower end the stud has a reduced threaded section 55 and ab oyp t he latter is a non-circular portion 56.

b S e plamping plate 21 has a dished central portion 57 an y lion-circular central opening 60 to receive the non- 5 911 51 portion 56 of the stud so as to rotate therewith. 1 5; e upper end of the dished section the plate has an u s fa r idifng annular flange 61 which is formed with a did??? of cut-away sections 62 and at one end of each cu n section there is formed an outwardly projecting cla mih finger 63 which underlies the base flange 16 vfi i e e parts are in locked position and which is re- 0218 dd ecess 39 (Fig. 6) in nested relation when the pigs ge in unlocked position. Thus the radial wall 67 a tlie iiiner end of the recess 39 forms a stop limiting rotation of the clamping plate from the locked position 1?? to the unlocked position of Fig. 6. At the'other epd p each cut-away section 62 there is formed a shoulder a froifiding a stop which limits rotation of the clamping pla when it is rotated from the unlocked position of W t o the locked position of Fig. 5. This shoulder 6 contacts edge 69 of lug 43. It will be seen that bys, s arrangement clamping plate 21 rotates to locked position while the closure plate is maintained in nonr t ative relation with the adapter. It will be noted that )ulJO t e u er face of each finger 1s positloned below the upper tags flange 61.

compression spring 64 is carried on the stud below s ttt and a lock nut 65 retains the clamping plate on bps A washer 66 may be positioned above the nut. :lli e ,manipulating handle generally fits the well except t ati is cut away at 70 and this edge is of reduced thickfiJfib 2i! ngs s O PI'OVlde a finger grip to enable the handle to be raised owl .P' s? be, i i maximum counterclockwise position and lug 43 has a el is a stop to limit further counterclockwise rotation o c amping finger 63 on the clamping plate. Slot 17 in t S, 42 and 43 to pass therethrough. In the illust rgt e d gmbodlment there are three slots 17 but it will be a p prgeclated that in a large cover more slots and l-ugs may be u s' 'eg.

E1116; closure assembly is thus applied to the adapter ring and lugs 63 of the clamping plate pass below the slots 127 the ring. The upright manipulating handle and s uzgl 22 on which it is pivotally mounted are rotated to ihe'position of Fig. 5. This rotation causesthe clamping late and fingers 63 carried thereby to turn so that tide ajer underlie flange 16. The relationship between riiljhgefo ring 29 and its annular seat in the adapter ring that the closure plate does not become initially fulfias eated on flange 16 and will not become seated until thp pgig has become deformed on its outer face by conta ck with the annular surface 15 of the adapter ring.

zhsgthe manipulating handle is rotated on its own pivot figgrn the position of Fig. 4 t0 the position of Fig. 3 carged scamrning surfaces 53 draw the stud 22 and the. clamping plate 21 carried thereby upwardly and simultailpmlsly moves the closure plate downwardly, causing wtflegrr rnaticn of that portion of the rubber O ring which l contacts the adapter ring from a round contour to a flat contour.

Fig. 7 shows a modified form of adapter ring wherein the upper ring is secured to the lower surface of the tank 76. The ring has a curved inner annular section 77 which merges into a vertical annular section 78, said curved section having a radius less than the radius of the O ring in cross-section. The lower ring portion 80 is parallel with the upper ring.

The closure plate 82 has the same undercut or dovetailed annular recess 83 for the O ring 84 and shoulders 85 and 86 confine the ring within the recess and that the distance between the shoulders is such that the ring is always confined within the recess even when maximum swelling or shrinkage, both in circumference and in crosssectional area, has occurred. This is also true of the arrangement of Fig. 3. When the adapter peripheral surface of the closure ring is fully seated on lower ring the cross-sectional contour of the O ring has been de formed as shown and a firm seal is effected.

If the closure plate is made from relatively soft metal it may be desirable to position a wear plate 90 of stainless steel or other hard metal under handle 23. Also, in the event that pin 38 should shear oif due to excessive wear it may be convenient to provide a screw driver slot 91 at the upper end of the stud in order to remove the same.

While there have been described herein what are at present considered preferred embodiments of the invention, it will be obvious to those'skilled in the art that many modifications and changes may be made therein without departing from the essence of the invention. It is therefor to be understood that the exemplary embodiments are illustrative and not restrictive of the invention,

the scope of which is defined in the appended claims, and that all modifications that come within the meaning and range. of equivalency of the claims are intended to be included therein.

What I claim is:

1. A filler cap assembly for a tank, and an apertured adapter therefor provided. with a downwardly curved annular flange and a slotted ring at the lower end of the flange, said assembly including a closure plate provided with a downwardly and inwardly inclined outer peripheral surface having an annular groove therein and formed along its upper and lower outer edges, respectively, with downwardly and upwardly inclined shoulders giving the groove a generally dovetailed contour, and a resilient O ring in the groove, said O ring having a cross-sectional diameter greater than the distance between theupper and lower shoulders, said shoulders preventing movement of the O ring out of the slot when its circumference or cross-sectional diameter increases or decreases due to expansion or shrinkage, means for compressing the O ring against the downwardly curved portion. of the annular flange,.said curved portion having a radius less than the cross-sectional radius of the O ring, said means including a stud rotatably, mounted centrally of the closure plate, a clamping plate formed with outwardly extending clamping fingers and secured at the lower endof the stud, spaced lugs carried around the lower periphery of the closure plate which are contacted on one side thereof by the clamping fingers when the clamping plate is rotated to unlocked position to permit the lugs and fingers to pass through the adapter slots, the opposed vertical edges of said lugs contacting the opposed edges of said adapter slots and preventing rotation of the closure plate in either.

direction during rotation of the stud and clamping plate to locked and unlocked position, the clamping Plate being provided with shoulders forming stops which contact the opposite sides of said lugs when the clamping plate is rotated to locked position, a handle pivoted at the upper end of the stud and provided with a camming surface to draw the fingers upwardlyinto engagement .with

5 the adapter ring and move the O ring downwardly into firm engagement with the curved adapter flange.

2. A filler cap assembly for a tank having an apertured adapter provided with a funnel shaped annular flange and a seat at the lower end of the flange having spaced slots therein, said assembly including a closure plate provided with a downwardly and inwardly inclined outer peripheral surface having an annular groove therein which is formed along its upper and lower outer edges, respectively, with downwardly and upwardly inclined shoulders giving the groove a generally dovetailed contour, and a resilient annular gasket in the groove, said gasket having a crosssectional diameter greater than the distance between the upper and lower shoulders, said shoulders preventing movement of the gasket out of the slot when said diameter increases or decreases due to expansion or shrinkage, the diameter of the closure plate at said lower outer edge of the groove being only slightly less than the adjacent diameter of the adapter but being large enough to act as a pilot to center the closure plate upon insertion, means for compressing the gasket against the annular flange of the adapter including a stud rotatably mounted centrally of the closure plate, a clamping plate formed with out wardly extending clamping fingers and secured at the lower end of the stud, spaced lugs carried around the lower periphery of the closure plate and having recesses to receive the clamping fingers in nested relation when the clamping plate is rotated to unlocked position to permit the lugs and fingers to pass through the adapter slots, the opposed vertical edges of said lugs contacting the opposed edges of said adapter slots and preventing rotation of the closure plate in either direction during rotation of the stud and clamping to locked andunlocked position, the clamping plate being provided with shoulders forming stops which contact the opposite sides of said lugs when the clamping plate is rotated to locked position, a handle pivoted at the upper end of the stud and provided with a camming surface which, when the handle is rotated downwardly to closed position effects a clamping action between the clamping plate and the closure plate to draw the fingers upwardly into engagement with the adapter ring and move the O ring downwardly into firm engagement with the curved adapter flange. I

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

